US20230033013A1 - Probe card device and transmission structure - Google Patents
Probe card device and transmission structure Download PDFInfo
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- US20230033013A1 US20230033013A1 US17/574,694 US202217574694A US2023033013A1 US 20230033013 A1 US20230033013 A1 US 20230033013A1 US 202217574694 A US202217574694 A US 202217574694A US 2023033013 A1 US2023033013 A1 US 2023033013A1
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- 239000000523 sample Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 76
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 45
- 239000004020 conductor Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 117
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 91
- 238000012360 testing method Methods 0.000 claims description 18
- 238000005452 bending Methods 0.000 claims description 10
- 239000003990 capacitor Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 229920001296 polysiloxane Polymers 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000001154 acute effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 description 1
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- 230000001788 irregular Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 1
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
- G01R1/00—Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
- G01R1/02—General constructional details
- G01R1/06—Measuring leads; Measuring probes
- G01R1/067—Measuring probes
- G01R1/073—Multiple probes
- G01R1/07307—Multiple probes with individual probe elements, e.g. needles, cantilever beams or bump contacts, fixed in relation to each other, e.g. bed of nails fixture or probe card
- G01R1/07357—Multiple probes with individual probe elements, e.g. needles, cantilever beams or bump contacts, fixed in relation to each other, e.g. bed of nails fixture or probe card with flexible bodies, e.g. buckling beams
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
- G01R1/00—Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
- G01R1/02—General constructional details
- G01R1/06—Measuring leads; Measuring probes
- G01R1/067—Measuring probes
- G01R1/073—Multiple probes
- G01R1/07307—Multiple probes with individual probe elements, e.g. needles, cantilever beams or bump contacts, fixed in relation to each other, e.g. bed of nails fixture or probe card
- G01R1/07342—Multiple probes with individual probe elements, e.g. needles, cantilever beams or bump contacts, fixed in relation to each other, e.g. bed of nails fixture or probe card the body of the probe being at an angle other than perpendicular to test object, e.g. probe card
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
- G01R1/00—Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
- G01R1/02—General constructional details
- G01R1/06—Measuring leads; Measuring probes
- G01R1/067—Measuring probes
- G01R1/06711—Probe needles; Cantilever beams; "Bump" contacts; Replaceable probe pins
- G01R1/06733—Geometry aspects
Definitions
- the present disclosure relates to a probe card, and more particularly to a probe card device and a transmission structure.
- a conventional vertical probe card includes a probe retainer and a plurality of conductive probes that are held by the probe retainer.
- the conventional vertical probe card is used to receive an external force and then generates a stroke, the external force and the stroke can be absorbed by deformation of the conductive probes.
- the structural design of the conventional vertical probe card has been limited to the above configuration so as to be difficult to be further improved.
- the present disclosure provides a probe card device and a transmission structure to effectively improve on the issues associated with conventional vertical probe cards.
- the present disclosure provides a transmission structure, which includes a supporting layer, a plurality of metal conductors, and an insulating resilient layer.
- the supporting layer has an inner surface and an outer surface that is opposite to the inner surface.
- Each of the metal conductors is integrally formed as an elongated structure.
- the metal conductors are spaced apart from each other and are slantingly inserted into the supporting layer along a predetermined direction.
- Each of the metal conductors includes a positioning segment held in the supporting layer, a connecting segment extending from one end of the positioning segment and configured to be connected to a space transformer, an embedded segment extending from another end of the positioning segment, and an exposed segment that extends from the embedded segment in a direction away from the positioning segment and that is configured to separably abut against a device under test (DUT), in which a length of the embedded segment is greater than a length of the exposed segment.
- the insulating resilient layer is formed on the inner surface of the supporting layer so as to embed and fix the embedded segment of each of the metal conductors therein. The exposed segment of each of the metal conductors protrudes from the insulating resilient layer.
- the insulating resilient layer is configured to absorb the external force through the embedded segment of the any one of the metal conductors so as to have a deformation that provides a stroke distance.
- the present disclosure provides a probe card device, which includes a transmission structure and a probe head.
- the transmission structure includes a supporting layer, a plurality of metal conductors, and an insulating resilient layer.
- the supporting layer has an inner surface and an outer surface that is opposite to the inner surface.
- Each of the metal conductors is integrally formed as an elongated structure. The metal conductors are spaced apart from each other and are slantingly inserted into the supporting layer along a predetermined direction.
- Each of the metal conductors includes a positioning segment held in the supporting layer, a connecting segment extending from one end of the positioning segment and configured to be connected to a space transformer, an embedded segment extending from another end of the positioning segment, and an exposed segment that extends from the embedded segment in a direction away from the positioning segment, in which a length of the embedded segment is greater than a length of the exposed segment.
- the insulating resilient layer is formed on the inner surface of the supporting layer so as to embed and fix the embedded segment of each of the metal conductors therein.
- the exposed segment of each of the metal conductors is disposed on a surface of the insulating resilient layer.
- the probe head includes a probe retainer and a plurality of conductive probes that are held by the probe retainer.
- an end of the conductive probes abuts against the exposed segments of the metal conductors, respectively, and another end of the conductive probes is configured to separably abut against a device under test (DUT).
- DUT device under test
- each of the metal conductors arranged in the insulating resilient layer is not parallel to the testing direction, so that the insulating resilient layer can be used to replace part of a function of a conductive probe of the conventional vertical probe card, and a length of each of the metal conductors can be effectively reduced by the cooperation of the embedded segment and the insulating resilient layer.
- FIG. 1 is a planar view showing a probe card device in a first configuration according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a transmission structure according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure
- FIG. 3 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a second configuration according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure
- FIG. 4 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a third configuration according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure
- FIG. 5 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a first configuration according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure
- FIG. 6 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a second configuration according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure
- FIG. 7 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a third configuration according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 8 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a fourth configuration according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 9 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a first configuration according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 10 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a second configuration according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 11 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a third configuration according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 12 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a fourth configuration according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 13 is a planar view showing the probe card device according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.
- a first embodiment of the present disclosure provides a transmission structure 100 .
- one side portion of the transmission structure 100 is assembled to a space transformer 200 , and another side portion of the transmission structure 100 is configured to separably abut against a device under test (DUT) O.
- DUT device under test
- the transmission structure 100 in the present embodiment is used as a probe card, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- the transmission structure 100 includes a supporting layer 1 , a plurality of metal conductors 2 that are inserted into the supporting layer 1 , and an insulating resilient layer 3 that is formed on the supporting layer 1 and that covers a portion of each of the metal conductors 2 .
- the supporting layer 1 is provided to maintain the position of the metal conductors 2 and is used as a carrier for the forming of the insulating resilient layer 3 , so that the metal conductors 3 are fixed to and not detached from the insulating resilient layer 3 .
- the supporting layer 1 has an inner surface 12 and an outer surface 13 that is opposite to the inner surface 12 .
- the supporting layer 1 in the present embodiment includes two guiding boards 11 stacked upon each other, and surfaces of the two guiding boards 11 arranged away from each other are respectively defined as the inner surface 12 and the outer surface 13 .
- Each of the two guiding boards 11 has a plurality of thru-holes 111 , and the thru-holes 111 of any one of the two guiding boards 11 are in spatial communication with the thru-holes 111 of the other one of the two guiding boards 11 , respectively, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- the supporting layer 1 can be one guiding board.
- Each of the metal conductors 2 is integrally formed as an elongated structure, and the metal conductors 2 are spaced apart from each other and are slantingly inserted into the supporting layer 1 along a predetermined direction D 1 .
- the metal conductors 2 in the present embodiment are of the substantially same structure, the following description discloses the structure of just one of the metal conductors 2 for the sake of brevity, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- any two of the metal conductors 2 can be of different structures.
- the metal conductor 2 in the present embodiment includes a positioning segment 21 , a connecting segment 22 that extends from one end of the positioning segment 21 , an embedded segment 23 that extends from another end of the positioning segment 21 , and an exposed segment that extends from the embedded segment 23 in a direction away from the positioning segment 21 .
- the metal conductor 2 sequentially has the connecting segment 22 , the positioning segment 21 , the embedded segment 23 , and the exposed segment 24 .
- the positioning segment 21 of each of the metal conductors 2 is held in the supporting layer 1 , and the two guiding boards 11 of the supporting layer 1 of the transmission structure 100 in the present embodiment are in a staggered arrangement so as to enable the positioning segment 21 of each of the metal conductors 2 to be held and arranged in the predetermined direction D 1 .
- the metal conductors 2 can be substantially parallel to each other by the positioning segments 21 being in cooperation with the supporting layer 1 .
- the positioning segment 21 of each of the metal conductors 2 in the present embodiment is inserted into two of the thru-holes 111 that respectively belong to the two guiding boards 11 and that are in spatial communication with each other.
- the positioning segment 21 of any one of the metal conductors 2 and the outer surface 13 of the supporting layer 1 have a slanting angle ⁇ therebetween that is within a range from 56 degrees to 88 degrees.
- the slanting angle ⁇ is defined between the predetermined direction D 1 and the outer surface 13 of the supporting layer 1 . Accordingly, each of the metal conductors 2 can be provided with the slanting angle ⁇ of different values (as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 ) so as to facilitate the transmission structure 100 to satisfy different design requirements.
- the connecting segments 22 of the metal conductors 2 which protrude from the outer surface 13 of the supporting layer 1 and are arranged at one side of the transmission structure 100 , are configured to be connected to connection pads 201 of the space transformer 200 , respectively.
- the exposed segments 24 of the metal conductors 2 which are arranged at another side of the transmission structure 100 , are configured to separably abut against metal pads O 1 of the DUT (e.g., a semiconductor wafer) O, respectively.
- a length of the embedded segment 23 is greater than a length of the exposed segment 24 and is also greater than a length of the connecting segment 22 .
- the insulating resilient layer 3 is formed on the inner surface 12 of the supporting layer 1 (e.g., the insulating resilient layer 3 is integrally formed as a single one-piece structure) so as to embed and fix the embedded segment 23 of each of the metal conductors 2 therein (e.g., the embedded segment 23 is gaplessly connected to the insulating resilient layer 3 ). Moreover, the exposed segment 24 of each of the metal conductors 2 protrudes from the insulating resilient layer 3 . In other words, a surface of the insulating resilient layer 3 adjacent to the exposed segments 24 faces toward the DUT O.
- the insulating resilient layer 3 shown in the drawings of the present embodiment is not filled into any one of the thru-holes 111 of the supporting layer 1 , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- the insulating resilient layer 3 can extend into the thru-holes 111 that are formed in the guiding board 11 having the inner surface 12 , so that the positioning segment 21 of each of the metal conductors 2 can be covered and fixed by the insulating resilient layer 3 .
- the insulating resilient layer 3 is configured to absorb the external force through the embedded segment 23 of the any one of the metal conductors 2 so as to have a deformation that provides a stroke distance.
- each of the metal conductors 2 arranged in the insulating resilient layer 3 is not parallel to the testing direction D 2 , so that the insulating resilient layer 3 can be used to replace part of a function of conductive probe of the conventional vertical probe card, and a length of each of the metal conductors 2 can be effectively reduced by the cooperation of the embedded segment 23 and the insulating resilient layer 3 .
- the transmission structure 100 in the present embodiment is provided by using the insulating resilient layer 3 to face toward the DUT O, so that when the transmission structure 100 is used to test the DUT O and the insulating resilient layer 3 unintentionally contacts the DUT O, the DUT O is not easily damaged.
- the slanting angle ⁇ is preferably within the above range from 56 degrees to 88 degrees, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- the insulating resilient layer 3 is limited to a silicone resilient layer, a total thickness of the supporting layer 1 and the insulating resilient layer 3 is less than or equal to 2 mm, and a thickness of the insulating resilient layer 3 is preferably at least two times of a thickness of the supporting layer 1 .
- each of the metal conductors 2 in the present embodiment is a straight structure, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- the embedded segment 23 and the exposed segment 24 of each of the metal conductors 2 can be formed in a curved shape, thereby enabling the embedded segments 23 of the metal conductors 2 to receive force in a same direction, and allowing the exposed segment 24 of each of the metal conductors 2 to protrude from the insulating resilient layer 4 along the testing direction D 2 .
- a part of the metal conductor 2 can be in an irregular shape, or a cross section of the metal conductor 2 can be a polygon shape (e.g., a rectangular shape) or a circular shape.
- a second embodiment of the present disclosure is provided, which is similar to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.
- descriptions of the same components in the first and second embodiments of the present disclosure will be omitted herein, and the following description only discloses different features between the first and second embodiments.
- At least part of the embedded segment 23 of each of the metal conductors 2 has a pre-bending portion 231 .
- the embedded segment 23 tends to be deformed at the pre-bending portion 231 so as to transmit the external force to the insulating resilient layer 3 .
- Positions of the pre-bending portions 231 of the metal conductors 2 relative to the supporting layer 1 are substantially the same, thereby enabling the embedded segments 23 to receive force in a same direction.
- structure of the pre-bending portion 231 of the embedded segment 23 can be changed or adjusted according to design requirements. For example, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , a percentage of an area of the embedded segment 23 occupied by the pre-bending portion 231 can be less than or equal to 50%, and the pre-bending portion 231 can be arranged adjacent to the exposed segment 24 (shown in FIG. 5 ) or the positioning segment (shown in FIG. 6 ); or, as shown in FIG. 7 , a quantity of the pre-bending portion 231 formed on the embedded segment 23 can be more than one; or, as shown in FIG. 8 , the percentage of the area of the embedded segment 23 occupied by the pre-bending portion 231 can be greater than or equal to 80%.
- a third embodiment of the present disclosure is provided, which is similar to the first and second embodiments of the present disclosure.
- descriptions of the same components in the first to third embodiments of the present disclosure will be omitted herein, and the following description only discloses different features among the present embodiment and the first and second embodiments.
- the supporting layer 1 includes a connection circuit 14 arranged on the inner surface 12 , and at least two of the metal conductors 2 are each defined as a target conductor 2 a .
- Each of the at least two target conductors 2 a has a protruding portion 25 extending from the embedded segment 23 thereof and embedded in the insulating resilient layer 3 .
- the protruding portion 25 of each of the at least two target conductors 2 a is arranged adjacent to the positioning segment 21 , and the protruding portions 25 of the at least two target conductors 2 a abut against the connection circuit 14 so as to be electrically coupled to each other.
- connection circuit 14 and each of the at least two target conductors 2 a can be changed or adjusted according to design requirements.
- the at least two target conductors 2 a are at least two grounding conductors G, respectively, thereby establishing a common ground effect through the connection circuit 14 ; or, as shown in FIG. 10 , the at least two target conductors 2 a are at least one pair of differential signal conductors Tx, Rx, thereby establishing a loop circuit through the connection circuit 14 .
- the connection circuit 14 can include two transmission lines 141 that are formed on the inner surface 12 and a capacitor 142 that connects the two transmission lines 141 .
- the at least two target conductors 2 a include a power conductor P and a grounding conductor G.
- the protruding portion 25 of the power conductor P and the protruding portion 25 of the grounding conductor G abut against the two transmission lines 141 , respectively, thereby being electrically coupled to the capacitor 142 for reducing an inductance change.
- the capacitor 142 can be selectively embedded in the supporting layer 1 (shown in FIG. 11 ) or the insulating resilient layer 3 (shown in FIG. 12 ).
- the protruding portion 25 of each of the at least two target conductors 2 a in the present embodiment is formed on a surface of the embedded segment 23 that faces toward the supporting layer 1 , thereby facilitating to abut against the connection circuit 14 , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- the protruding portion 25 can be formed on any surface of the embedded segment 23 that does not face toward the supporting layer 1
- a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is provided, which is similar to the first to third embodiments of the present disclosure.
- descriptions of the same components in the first to fourth embodiments of the present disclosure will be omitted herein, and the following description only discloses different features among the present embodiment and the first to third embodiments.
- the present embodiment provides a probe card device 1000 , which includes a transmission structure 100 , a space transformer 200 that is assembled to one side portion of the transmission structure 100 , and a probe head 300 that separably abuts against another side portion of the transmission structure 100 .
- the transmission structure 100 in the present embodiment is substantially identical to that of the first to third embodiment, but the exposed segment 24 of each of the metal conductors 2 in the present embodiment is a metal pad that is (flatly) disposed on a surface of the insulating resilient layer 3 away from the supporting layer 1 .
- the exposed segment 24 and the embedded segment 23 of each of the metal conductors 2 in the present embodiment have an acute angle there-between.
- the transmission structure 100 in the present embodiment is described in cooperation with the space transformer 200 and the probe head 300 , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
- the transmission structure 100 can be independently used (e.g., sold) or can be released with just the probe head 300 .
- the probe head 300 includes a probe retainer 301 and a plurality of conductive probes 302 that are held by the probe retainer 301 . Moreover, an end of the conductive probes 302 abuts against the exposed segments 24 of the metal conductors 2 , respectively, and another end of the conductive probes 302 is configured to separably abut against the DUT O (e.g., the metal pads O 1 ).
- the insulating resilient layer 3 is configured to absorb the external force through the corresponding metal conductor 2 so as to have a deformation that provides a stroke distance.
- each of the metal conductors 2 arranged in the insulating resilient layer 3 is not parallel to the testing direction D 2 , so that the insulating resilient layer 3 can be used to replace part of a function of conductive probe of the conventional vertical probe card, and a length of each of the metal conductors 2 can be effectively reduced by the cooperation of the embedded segment 23 and the insulating resilient layer 3 .
- the conductive probe 302 in the present embodiment is provided to transmit a signal and the external force, and does not need to absorb the external force or to provide the stroke distance by having a deformation, so that the conductive probe 302 can be controlled to have a shorter length, and the conductive probe 302 used to abut against the DUT O can be replaced for effectively reducing the cost of the probe card device 1000 .
- each of the metal conductors arranged in the insulating resilient layer is not parallel to the testing direction, so that the insulating resilient layer can be used to replace part of a function of the conductive probe of the conventional vertical probe card, and a length of each of the metal conductors can be effectively reduced by the cooperation of the embedded segment and the insulating resilient layer.
- the transmission structure in the present disclosure is provided by using the insulating resilient layer to face toward the DUT, so that when the transmission structure is used to test the DUT and the insulating resilient layer unintentionally contacts the DUT, the DUT is not easily damaged.
- the conductive probe is provided to transmit a signal and the external force, and does not need to absorb the external force or to provide the stroke distance by having a deformation, so that the conductive probe can be controlled to have a shorter length, and the conductive probe used to abut against the DUT can be replaced for effectively reducing the cost of the probe card device.
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Abstract
Description
- This application claims the benefit of priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 110127820, filed on Jul. 29, 2021. The entire content of the above identified application is incorporated herein by reference.
- Some references, which may include patents, patent applications and various publications, may be cited and discussed in the description of this disclosure. The citation and/or discussion of such references is provided merely to clarify the description of the present disclosure and is not an admission that any such reference is “prior art” to the disclosure described herein. All references cited and discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and to the same extent as if each reference was individually incorporated by reference.
- The present disclosure relates to a probe card, and more particularly to a probe card device and a transmission structure.
- A conventional vertical probe card includes a probe retainer and a plurality of conductive probes that are held by the probe retainer. When the conventional vertical probe card is used to receive an external force and then generates a stroke, the external force and the stroke can be absorbed by deformation of the conductive probes. However, the structural design of the conventional vertical probe card has been limited to the above configuration so as to be difficult to be further improved.
- In response to the above-referenced technical inadequacy, the present disclosure provides a probe card device and a transmission structure to effectively improve on the issues associated with conventional vertical probe cards.
- In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a transmission structure, which includes a supporting layer, a plurality of metal conductors, and an insulating resilient layer. The supporting layer has an inner surface and an outer surface that is opposite to the inner surface. Each of the metal conductors is integrally formed as an elongated structure. The metal conductors are spaced apart from each other and are slantingly inserted into the supporting layer along a predetermined direction. Each of the metal conductors includes a positioning segment held in the supporting layer, a connecting segment extending from one end of the positioning segment and configured to be connected to a space transformer, an embedded segment extending from another end of the positioning segment, and an exposed segment that extends from the embedded segment in a direction away from the positioning segment and that is configured to separably abut against a device under test (DUT), in which a length of the embedded segment is greater than a length of the exposed segment. The insulating resilient layer is formed on the inner surface of the supporting layer so as to embed and fix the embedded segment of each of the metal conductors therein. The exposed segment of each of the metal conductors protrudes from the insulating resilient layer. When the exposed segment of any one of the metal conductors is pressed by an external force along a testing direction that is not parallel to the predetermined direction, the insulating resilient layer is configured to absorb the external force through the embedded segment of the any one of the metal conductors so as to have a deformation that provides a stroke distance.
- In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a probe card device, which includes a transmission structure and a probe head. The transmission structure includes a supporting layer, a plurality of metal conductors, and an insulating resilient layer. The supporting layer has an inner surface and an outer surface that is opposite to the inner surface. Each of the metal conductors is integrally formed as an elongated structure. The metal conductors are spaced apart from each other and are slantingly inserted into the supporting layer along a predetermined direction. Each of the metal conductors includes a positioning segment held in the supporting layer, a connecting segment extending from one end of the positioning segment and configured to be connected to a space transformer, an embedded segment extending from another end of the positioning segment, and an exposed segment that extends from the embedded segment in a direction away from the positioning segment, in which a length of the embedded segment is greater than a length of the exposed segment. The insulating resilient layer is formed on the inner surface of the supporting layer so as to embed and fix the embedded segment of each of the metal conductors therein. The exposed segment of each of the metal conductors is disposed on a surface of the insulating resilient layer. The probe head includes a probe retainer and a plurality of conductive probes that are held by the probe retainer. Moreover, an end of the conductive probes abuts against the exposed segments of the metal conductors, respectively, and another end of the conductive probes is configured to separably abut against a device under test (DUT). When any one of the conductive probes is pressed by an external force along a testing direction that is not parallel to the predetermined direction, the insulating resilient layer is configured to absorb the external force through the corresponding metal conductor so as to have a deformation that provides a stroke distance.
- Therefore, in any one of the transmission structure and the probe card device provided by the present disclosure, each of the metal conductors arranged in the insulating resilient layer is not parallel to the testing direction, so that the insulating resilient layer can be used to replace part of a function of a conductive probe of the conventional vertical probe card, and a length of each of the metal conductors can be effectively reduced by the cooperation of the embedded segment and the insulating resilient layer.
- These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings and their captions, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
- The described embodiments may be better understood by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:
-
FIG. 1 is a planar view showing a probe card device in a first configuration according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a transmission structure according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 3 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a second configuration according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 4 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a third configuration according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 5 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a first configuration according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 6 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a second configuration according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 7 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a third configuration according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 8 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a fourth configuration according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 9 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a first configuration according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 10 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a second configuration according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 11 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a third configuration according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure; -
FIG. 12 is a planar view showing the probe card device in a fourth configuration according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure; and -
FIG. 13 is a planar view showing the probe card device according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. - Referring to
FIG. 1 toFIG. 4 , a first embodiment of the present disclosure provides atransmission structure 100. As shown inFIG. 1 andFIG. 2 , one side portion of thetransmission structure 100 is assembled to aspace transformer 200, and another side portion of thetransmission structure 100 is configured to separably abut against a device under test (DUT) O. In other words, thetransmission structure 100 in the present embodiment is used as a probe card, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. - The
transmission structure 100 includes a supportinglayer 1, a plurality ofmetal conductors 2 that are inserted into the supportinglayer 1, and an insulatingresilient layer 3 that is formed on the supportinglayer 1 and that covers a portion of each of themetal conductors 2. The supportinglayer 1 is provided to maintain the position of themetal conductors 2 and is used as a carrier for the forming of the insulatingresilient layer 3, so that themetal conductors 3 are fixed to and not detached from the insulatingresilient layer 3. - The supporting
layer 1 has aninner surface 12 and anouter surface 13 that is opposite to theinner surface 12. The supportinglayer 1 in the present embodiment includes two guidingboards 11 stacked upon each other, and surfaces of the two guidingboards 11 arranged away from each other are respectively defined as theinner surface 12 and theouter surface 13. Each of the two guidingboards 11 has a plurality of thru-holes 111, and the thru-holes 111 of any one of the two guidingboards 11 are in spatial communication with the thru-holes 111 of the other one of the two guidingboards 11, respectively, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, in other embodiments of the present disclosure not shown in the drawings, the supportinglayer 1 can be one guiding board. - Each of the
metal conductors 2 is integrally formed as an elongated structure, and themetal conductors 2 are spaced apart from each other and are slantingly inserted into the supportinglayer 1 along a predetermined direction D1. As themetal conductors 2 in the present embodiment are of the substantially same structure, the following description discloses the structure of just one of themetal conductors 2 for the sake of brevity, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, in other embodiments of the present disclosure not shown in the drawings, any two of themetal conductors 2 can be of different structures. - Specifically, the
metal conductor 2 in the present embodiment includes apositioning segment 21, a connectingsegment 22 that extends from one end of thepositioning segment 21, an embeddedsegment 23 that extends from another end of thepositioning segment 21, and an exposed segment that extends from the embeddedsegment 23 in a direction away from thepositioning segment 21. In other words, themetal conductor 2 sequentially has the connectingsegment 22, thepositioning segment 21, the embeddedsegment 23, and the exposedsegment 24. - The
positioning segment 21 of each of themetal conductors 2 is held in the supportinglayer 1, and the two guidingboards 11 of the supportinglayer 1 of thetransmission structure 100 in the present embodiment are in a staggered arrangement so as to enable thepositioning segment 21 of each of themetal conductors 2 to be held and arranged in the predetermined direction D1. In other words, themetal conductors 2 can be substantially parallel to each other by thepositioning segments 21 being in cooperation with the supportinglayer 1. Thepositioning segment 21 of each of themetal conductors 2 in the present embodiment is inserted into two of the thru-holes 111 that respectively belong to the two guidingboards 11 and that are in spatial communication with each other. - Moreover, the
positioning segment 21 of any one of themetal conductors 2 and theouter surface 13 of the supportinglayer 1 have a slanting angle α therebetween that is within a range from 56 degrees to 88 degrees. In other words, the slanting angle α is defined between the predetermined direction D1 and theouter surface 13 of the supportinglayer 1. Accordingly, each of themetal conductors 2 can be provided with the slanting angle α of different values (as shown inFIG. 1 andFIG. 3 ) so as to facilitate thetransmission structure 100 to satisfy different design requirements. - The connecting
segments 22 of themetal conductors 2, which protrude from theouter surface 13 of the supportinglayer 1 and are arranged at one side of thetransmission structure 100, are configured to be connected toconnection pads 201 of thespace transformer 200, respectively. The exposedsegments 24 of themetal conductors 2, which are arranged at another side of thetransmission structure 100, are configured to separably abut against metal pads O1 of the DUT (e.g., a semiconductor wafer) O, respectively. Moreover, in each of themetal conductors 2, a length of the embeddedsegment 23 is greater than a length of the exposedsegment 24 and is also greater than a length of the connectingsegment 22. - The insulating
resilient layer 3 is formed on theinner surface 12 of the supporting layer 1 (e.g., the insulatingresilient layer 3 is integrally formed as a single one-piece structure) so as to embed and fix the embeddedsegment 23 of each of themetal conductors 2 therein (e.g., the embeddedsegment 23 is gaplessly connected to the insulating resilient layer 3). Moreover, the exposedsegment 24 of each of themetal conductors 2 protrudes from the insulatingresilient layer 3. In other words, a surface of the insulatingresilient layer 3 adjacent to the exposedsegments 24 faces toward the DUT O. - It should be noted that the insulating
resilient layer 3 shown in the drawings of the present embodiment is not filled into any one of the thru-holes 111 of the supportinglayer 1, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, in other embodiments of the present disclosure not shown in the drawings, the insulatingresilient layer 3 can extend into the thru-holes 111 that are formed in the guidingboard 11 having theinner surface 12, so that thepositioning segment 21 of each of themetal conductors 2 can be covered and fixed by the insulatingresilient layer 3. - Specifically, when the exposed
segment 24 of any one of themetal conductors 2 is pressed by an external force along a testing direction D2 that is not parallel to the predetermined direction D1 (e.g., when the exposedsegment 24 abuts against the DUT O), the insulatingresilient layer 3 is configured to absorb the external force through the embeddedsegment 23 of the any one of themetal conductors 2 so as to have a deformation that provides a stroke distance. - Accordingly, in the
transmission structure 100 provided by the present embodiment, each of themetal conductors 2 arranged in the insulatingresilient layer 3 is not parallel to the testing direction D2, so that the insulatingresilient layer 3 can be used to replace part of a function of conductive probe of the conventional vertical probe card, and a length of each of themetal conductors 2 can be effectively reduced by the cooperation of the embeddedsegment 23 and the insulatingresilient layer 3. - Moreover, the
transmission structure 100 in the present embodiment is provided by using the insulatingresilient layer 3 to face toward the DUT O, so that when thetransmission structure 100 is used to test the DUT O and the insulatingresilient layer 3 unintentionally contacts the DUT O, the DUT O is not easily damaged. - Specifically, in order to effectively absorb the external force and provide the stroke distance by the insulating
resilient layer 3, the slanting angle α is preferably within the above range from 56 degrees to 88 degrees, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Moreover, the insulatingresilient layer 3 is limited to a silicone resilient layer, a total thickness of the supportinglayer 1 and the insulatingresilient layer 3 is less than or equal to 2 mm, and a thickness of the insulatingresilient layer 3 is preferably at least two times of a thickness of the supportinglayer 1. - In addition, each of the
metal conductors 2 in the present embodiment is a straight structure, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, as shown inFIG. 4 , the embeddedsegment 23 and the exposedsegment 24 of each of themetal conductors 2 can be formed in a curved shape, thereby enabling the embeddedsegments 23 of themetal conductors 2 to receive force in a same direction, and allowing the exposedsegment 24 of each of themetal conductors 2 to protrude from the insulating resilient layer 4 along the testing direction D2. Moreover, in other embodiments of the present disclosure not shown in the drawings, a part of themetal conductor 2 can be in an irregular shape, or a cross section of themetal conductor 2 can be a polygon shape (e.g., a rectangular shape) or a circular shape. - Referring to
FIG. 5 toFIG. 8 , a second embodiment of the present disclosure is provided, which is similar to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. For the sake of brevity, descriptions of the same components in the first and second embodiments of the present disclosure will be omitted herein, and the following description only discloses different features between the first and second embodiments. - In the present embodiment, at least part of the embedded
segment 23 of each of themetal conductors 2 has apre-bending portion 231. When the exposedsegment 24 of any one of themetal conductors 2 is pressed by the external force, the embeddedsegment 23 tends to be deformed at thepre-bending portion 231 so as to transmit the external force to the insulatingresilient layer 3. Positions of thepre-bending portions 231 of themetal conductors 2 relative to the supportinglayer 1 are substantially the same, thereby enabling the embeddedsegments 23 to receive force in a same direction. - In each of the
metal conductors 2, structure of thepre-bending portion 231 of the embeddedsegment 23 can be changed or adjusted according to design requirements. For example, as shown inFIG. 5 andFIG. 6 , a percentage of an area of the embeddedsegment 23 occupied by thepre-bending portion 231 can be less than or equal to 50%, and thepre-bending portion 231 can be arranged adjacent to the exposed segment 24 (shown inFIG. 5 ) or the positioning segment (shown inFIG. 6 ); or, as shown inFIG. 7 , a quantity of thepre-bending portion 231 formed on the embeddedsegment 23 can be more than one; or, as shown inFIG. 8 , the percentage of the area of the embeddedsegment 23 occupied by thepre-bending portion 231 can be greater than or equal to 80%. - Referring to
FIG. 9 toFIG. 12 , a third embodiment of the present disclosure is provided, which is similar to the first and second embodiments of the present disclosure. For the sake of brevity, descriptions of the same components in the first to third embodiments of the present disclosure will be omitted herein, and the following description only discloses different features among the present embodiment and the first and second embodiments. - In the present embodiment, the supporting
layer 1 includes aconnection circuit 14 arranged on theinner surface 12, and at least two of themetal conductors 2 are each defined as atarget conductor 2 a. Each of the at least twotarget conductors 2 a has a protrudingportion 25 extending from the embeddedsegment 23 thereof and embedded in the insulatingresilient layer 3. The protrudingportion 25 of each of the at least twotarget conductors 2 a is arranged adjacent to thepositioning segment 21, and the protrudingportions 25 of the at least twotarget conductors 2 a abut against theconnection circuit 14 so as to be electrically coupled to each other. - Specifically, the
connection circuit 14 and each of the at least twotarget conductors 2 a can be changed or adjusted according to design requirements. For example, as shown inFIG. 9 , the at least twotarget conductors 2 a are at least two grounding conductors G, respectively, thereby establishing a common ground effect through theconnection circuit 14; or, as shown inFIG. 10 , the at least twotarget conductors 2 a are at least one pair of differential signal conductors Tx, Rx, thereby establishing a loop circuit through theconnection circuit 14. - In addition, as shown in
FIG. 11 andFIG. 12 , theconnection circuit 14 can include twotransmission lines 141 that are formed on theinner surface 12 and acapacitor 142 that connects the twotransmission lines 141. The at least twotarget conductors 2 a include a power conductor P and a grounding conductor G. The protrudingportion 25 of the power conductor P and the protrudingportion 25 of the grounding conductor G abut against the twotransmission lines 141, respectively, thereby being electrically coupled to thecapacitor 142 for reducing an inductance change. Moreover, according to design requirements, thecapacitor 142 can be selectively embedded in the supporting layer 1 (shown inFIG. 11 ) or the insulating resilient layer 3 (shown inFIG. 12 ). - It should be noted that the protruding
portion 25 of each of the at least twotarget conductors 2 a in the present embodiment is formed on a surface of the embeddedsegment 23 that faces toward the supportinglayer 1, thereby facilitating to abut against theconnection circuit 14, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, in other embodiments of the present disclosure not shown in the drawings, the protrudingportion 25 can be formed on any surface of the embeddedsegment 23 that does not face toward the supportinglayer 1 - Referring to
FIG. 13 , a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is provided, which is similar to the first to third embodiments of the present disclosure. For the sake of brevity, descriptions of the same components in the first to fourth embodiments of the present disclosure will be omitted herein, and the following description only discloses different features among the present embodiment and the first to third embodiments. - The present embodiment provides a
probe card device 1000, which includes atransmission structure 100, aspace transformer 200 that is assembled to one side portion of thetransmission structure 100, and aprobe head 300 that separably abuts against another side portion of thetransmission structure 100. Thetransmission structure 100 in the present embodiment is substantially identical to that of the first to third embodiment, but the exposedsegment 24 of each of themetal conductors 2 in the present embodiment is a metal pad that is (flatly) disposed on a surface of the insulatingresilient layer 3 away from the supportinglayer 1. In other words, the exposedsegment 24 and the embeddedsegment 23 of each of themetal conductors 2 in the present embodiment have an acute angle there-between. - It should be noted that the
transmission structure 100 in the present embodiment is described in cooperation with thespace transformer 200 and theprobe head 300, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, in other embodiments of the present disclosure not shown in the drawings, thetransmission structure 100 can be independently used (e.g., sold) or can be released with just theprobe head 300. - Moreover, the
probe head 300 includes aprobe retainer 301 and a plurality ofconductive probes 302 that are held by theprobe retainer 301. Moreover, an end of theconductive probes 302 abuts against the exposedsegments 24 of themetal conductors 2, respectively, and another end of theconductive probes 302 is configured to separably abut against the DUT O (e.g., the metal pads O1). When any one of theconductive probes 302 is pressed by an external force along a testing direction D2 that is not parallel to the predetermined direction D1, the insulatingresilient layer 3 is configured to absorb the external force through the correspondingmetal conductor 2 so as to have a deformation that provides a stroke distance. - Accordingly, in the
probe card device 1000 provided by the present embodiment, each of themetal conductors 2 arranged in the insulatingresilient layer 3 is not parallel to the testing direction D2, so that the insulatingresilient layer 3 can be used to replace part of a function of conductive probe of the conventional vertical probe card, and a length of each of themetal conductors 2 can be effectively reduced by the cooperation of the embeddedsegment 23 and the insulatingresilient layer 3. - Specifically, the
conductive probe 302 in the present embodiment is provided to transmit a signal and the external force, and does not need to absorb the external force or to provide the stroke distance by having a deformation, so that theconductive probe 302 can be controlled to have a shorter length, and theconductive probe 302 used to abut against the DUT O can be replaced for effectively reducing the cost of theprobe card device 1000. - In conclusion, in any one of the transmission structure and the probe card device provided by the present disclosure, each of the metal conductors arranged in the insulating resilient layer is not parallel to the testing direction, so that the insulating resilient layer can be used to replace part of a function of the conductive probe of the conventional vertical probe card, and a length of each of the metal conductors can be effectively reduced by the cooperation of the embedded segment and the insulating resilient layer.
- Moreover, the transmission structure in the present disclosure is provided by using the insulating resilient layer to face toward the DUT, so that when the transmission structure is used to test the DUT and the insulating resilient layer unintentionally contacts the DUT, the DUT is not easily damaged.
- Furthermore, in the probe card device provided by the present disclosure, the conductive probe is provided to transmit a signal and the external force, and does not need to absorb the external force or to provide the stroke distance by having a deformation, so that the conductive probe can be controlled to have a shorter length, and the conductive probe used to abut against the DUT can be replaced for effectively reducing the cost of the probe card device.
- The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
- The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope.
Claims (10)
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TW110127820 | 2021-07-29 | ||
TW110127820A TWI777698B (en) | 2021-07-29 | 2021-07-29 | Probe card device and transmission structure |
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US20230033013A1 true US20230033013A1 (en) | 2023-02-02 |
US11933817B2 US11933817B2 (en) | 2024-03-19 |
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US17/574,694 Active 2042-08-07 US11933817B2 (en) | 2021-07-29 | 2022-01-13 | Probe card device and transmission structure |
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Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1999049325A1 (en) * | 1998-03-24 | 1999-09-30 | Nit Systems Ltd. | Automatic fixture building for electrical testing |
US20110006796A1 (en) * | 2006-10-11 | 2011-01-13 | Microprobe, Inc. | Probe retention arrangement |
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US6830460B1 (en) * | 1999-08-02 | 2004-12-14 | Gryphics, Inc. | Controlled compliance fine pitch interconnect |
TWI651539B (en) * | 2014-03-10 | 2019-02-21 | 美商瓊斯科技國際公司 | Wafer-level integrated circuit probe array and construction method |
CN106773178B (en) * | 2017-01-05 | 2023-06-09 | 合肥鑫晟光电科技有限公司 | Probe part, manufacturing method thereof, probe block and detection device |
CN206671367U (en) * | 2017-03-07 | 2017-11-24 | 李嘉昇 | The structure-improved of probe base |
CN112424615A (en) * | 2018-07-13 | 2021-02-26 | 日本电产理德股份有限公司 | Inspection jig and inspection device |
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Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO1999049325A1 (en) * | 1998-03-24 | 1999-09-30 | Nit Systems Ltd. | Automatic fixture building for electrical testing |
US20110006796A1 (en) * | 2006-10-11 | 2011-01-13 | Microprobe, Inc. | Probe retention arrangement |
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US11933817B2 (en) | 2024-03-19 |
TW202305375A (en) | 2023-02-01 |
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